Rotary engine.



J. MATHES.

ROTARY ENGINE. APPLICATION men MAR. 30. I917- 1,r268,72. Patented June 4,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET WITNESSES ATTORNE J. MATHES.

ROTARY ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30. ml.

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cihnflathes RT TO RN EY WITNEsSES JOHN, MATHES, or ARION, IOWA.

Romany nnemn.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, JOHN Martins, a citizen of the United States, residing at Man ion, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented new and'useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification. f"

This invention relates torotary engines of the class embodying in connection with a stationary casing, a rotor, and pistons 'or movable abutments carried bythe rotor and having a novel mounting in relation to. the rotor and a novel relation to the rotor and its casing, whereby the pistons automatically tilt as they revolve aroundthe shaft of the engine as a center so as to receive the full pressure of the steam, compressed air, water, or other fluid or liquid used as the driving medium. l A further object of the invention is to so combine the parts of the engineabove referred to that the joints between the rotor and the casing and between the pistons, the rotor and the casing may be equipped with packing rings or strips which will prevent leakage of the fluid. Another object of the invention is to provide a sectional and adjustable abutment between the periphery of the rotor. and the the invention consists in the novel construcdiametrical section, and other'parts in elevation. e

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through theengine taken in line with the engine shaft'which is shown in elevation.

1 Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section 1 through the engine taken 1n line with one of the piston supporting members.

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of one of the pistons.

The engine contemplated in this invention comprises a rotor 1, mounted within a casing 2. which is generally cylindrical in shape.- The casing comprises substantially sections 3 and 4% which form the op" Specification of Letters I'atent.

i 1 Application filed March 30, 1917. Serial No. 158,656.

posite heads of the rotor chamber and the peripheral portions of which are arcuate in cross section as indicated at a, formingin conjunction with the rotor 1 anannular fluid chamber 5 which in cross section is substantially semicylindrical. The sections 3 of the casing are flanged as shown at 6 and securedtogether by fastening means 7 such as bolts. The lower portions of the sections of the casing are of such formation as to provide a supporting base 8 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. j

The rotor is formed at a plurality of points. in the peripheral portion thereof with piston receiving chambers 9 each substantially semicylindrical in shape and adapted to admit of the oscillatory or tilting movement of one of a series of pistons 10, one of which is illustrated in detail in Figs. 2 and 5.. Each piston has a semicircular outer portion 11 corresponding in shape with the peripheral portion of the chamber 5 and is further provided with an apron 12 as best illustrated in Fig. 5 so that there is greater pressure on said piston at one side of its pivotal center than at the other, in

order to insure the tilting action thereof.

A packing ring or strip 13 of the self-expansible type encircles each piston and is seated in a groove therein as shown in Fig. 2; each piston 10 is mountedupon a piston supporting member 14 which isshown as formed separately from the rotor and .fixedly secured thereto by fastening means 15. However the support 14; may, if desired, be formed as anintegralpart of the rotor. Each support 14. is provided with a piston supporting arm 16 which carries the pivot 17 on which the respective piston is mounted so as to tilt or oscillate. Each piston is preferably dished or of hollow formation as indicated in Fig. 2 in order that the pivot 17 may be located as closely as possible to the peripheral line of the rotor 1.

The casing 1 is provided with an inlet port 18 and is also provided with an outlet port 19 shown as diametrically opposite the inlet port 18,the outlet port being of greater capacity, approximately twice the size of the inlet port 18 so as to provide for a free exhaust. Interposed between the inner periphery of the casing and the periphery of the rotor, is a sectional abutment comprising end sections 20 and 21 and an intermediate section 22. The outer and inner surfaces of the intermediate section 22 are concentric throughout and portions of the outer and inner surfaces of the end sections 20 and 21 are also concentric. The section 21 is provided with an inclined or sloping tions20 and 21 have rabbeted meeting ends 25to admit of a certain degree of movement and adjustment in relation to each other, the section" 22 being adjustable to compensate for wear by means of adjusting members 26 shown in the form of screws having tapered inner ends which bear against the outer surface of said section 22. Other adjusting members 27 cooperate with the end sections 20. and 21 for a similar purpose. In this way Wear may be taken up between all of a the sections of the abutment and the rotor.

Packing rings 28 are inserted between the periphery of the rotor and the inner periphery of the casing 2 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 to prevent leakage at such points and said rings 28 are preferably connected by dowel pins or the like to the rotor so as to be carried thereby.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings the operation of the engine will now be understood. With. the rotor turning in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, as each piston passes beyond the end abutment 20, there is an. excess of pressure against. thepiston on that side of greatest area. or in other words that side embodying the apron 12. This Causes the piston to in-. stantly tilt from the position shown at the left of. Fig. 1 to theposition shown at the top of said figure or the position shown in Fig. 2. In the last named position, the force of the fluid is directed against that portion of the piston which is sweeping through the annular chamber the inner portion of the piston embodying the apron 12 lying at that time behindrthe respective supporting member 14 thereby causing the excess of press J pitethis pat nt m y be q e d or sure to be directed against the outer portion of the piston. The piston remains in this position until it passes the exhaust port 19 and it is then acted upon by the surface 23, causing said piston to be tilted back to its housed or inoperative position as clearly indicated at the right hand side of Fig. 1. The back and forth tilting movement of the pistons is therefore entirely automatic. By reason of the arrangement and construction described, the-pistons may be tightly packed to avoid. leakage and the joints between the periphery of the rotor and the casing may also be packed to prevent leakage at those points.

The engine may be operated either by steam or other fluid-under pressure, compressed air, or Water under ordinary city pressure. The engine is of course adapted to all thevarious uses to which engines are ordinarily put, the power generated by the engine being proportionate to the size of the engine and the pressure of the liquidor fluid used to operate the same.

I claim:

1. In a. rotary engine, astationary casing embodying anarcuate fluid chamber substantially half round in cross section and also having an inlet, and exhaust ports com municating therewith, a stationary abutment face in said chamber, a rotor working in said casing and formed with substantially rectangular piston chambers, and tilting pistons pivotally supported" by said rotor and mounted for oscillatoryflmovement in said piston chambers, each of said pistons embodying a substantially half round portion. and. a substantiallyrectangular apron which is movable in the respective piston chamber and is acted upon by the motive fluid under pressure for tilting the piston to its operative position. i

2. In. a rotary engine,.the combination of a stationary casing having an arcuate fluid chamber and inlet and: exhaust ports adjacent to theends of said fluid chamber, a 1'0- tor in said casing, tilting pistons having a pivotal mounting on sa d rotor, a sectional H In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature JOHN MATHES.

fi e c n ea h! by a dr ss n e o ml at Washington, D. G. 

